49ers Star Shakes Off Focus on Injury

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — So there was Justin Smith, inside a tent on Wednesday, behind a lectern, clad in gray San Francisco 49ers sweats complete with the requisite lineman stains. His face hinted at neither worry nor concern. That whole thing about a partly torn triceps tendon?

What whole thing about a partly torn triceps tendon?

Smith, an All-Pro defensive lineman, took several questions about the injury, which in December ended his streak of consecutive starts dating to 2001. He spoke of his “love-hate” relationship with the bulky black brace he wore on his left arm last weekend against the Green Bay Packers. He even noted the obvious possibility that he could exacerbate the injury and further tear the tendon, which he dismissed with a quick “I’m not concerned.”

He added, “I really don’t want to get into how it feels, or this or that.”

Smith’s injury, however he wanted to deal with or describe it, loomed anyway over San Francisco’s preparation for the N.F.C. championship game Sunday in Atlanta against the Falcons. That is because Smith is more than simply important to the 49ers’ defense; he is emblematic of both the team and its hard-hat mentality, which made San Francisco a trendy Super Bowl favorite pick this week.

In the 49ers’ 45-31 demolition of the Packers, another trendy Super Bowl favorite before last weekend, Smith played all but five defensive snaps. According to statistics compiled during the coaches’ film review, Smith recorded four solo tackles, four assisted tackles, two quarterback hits and four quarterback pressures. The official game statistics credited him with five tackles.

Regardless, Coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged Smith’s impact.

“And the legend grows,” Harbaugh told reporters. “What a player.”

Spend enough time at the 49ers’ practice facility, listen to enough teammates, and Smith sounds like some combination of Reggie White and Chuck Norris. Able to command double teams and topple two men with one hand. Strong enough to slam a revolving door. Part man, part anchor, part beast.

He signed with the 49ers in 2008, after seven seasons in Cincinnati. Mike Nolan, the San Francisco coach back then, told the retired quarterback Trent Dilfer that Smith should be ranked among the top five players in professional football. To Dilfer, that seemed to be an exaggeration. Until he started to watch Smith — really watch him.

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The All-Pro defensive lineman Justin Smith, with a brace on his left arm, against the Packers.CreditJohn G. Mabanglo/European Pressphoto Agency

“So much of Justin’s greatness doesn’t show up in making plays,” Dilfer said in a telephone interview. “So much of it is in how he helps others to make plays. I’m convinced he’s one of the top 10 best players in the N.F.L., the impact he has on every game.”

To add to Dilfer’s point, Smith’s accolades occupied a full page in San Francisco’s game notes this week. Among the highlights: Smith made the past four Pro Bowls, recorded at least six sacks in each of those seasons (tied for the second-longest such streak in team history) and led all defensive linemen with 792 tackles since 2001 (according to official game book statistics). This season, despite the injury, Smith was voted All-Pro again, to the second team.

Smith tore the triceps tendon against New England in mid-December, and his absence forced the 49ers to reconfigure some of their base defense. Where Smith occupied multiple blockers on many plays, those extra linemen or backs could shift elsewhere, worried about linebackers or others on the 49ers’ line. Sometimes that meant San Francisco was forced to rush more players, which left fewer in coverage. This was the trickle-down effect.

So continued a postseason defined in part by the walking wounded. There went Robert Griffin III, limping through a first-round loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and Ray Lewis, with a brace similar to Smith’s protecting his own arm against the Denver Broncos.

The Sacramento Bee tracked down the manufacturer of the brace, a company called DonJoy, which said that it made this brace with hollow carbon fiber and that it weighed 16 ounces. Lewis also wore a DonJoy, as did J. J. Watt of the Houston Texans, according to The Bee. The Brace Brigade, if you will.

Smith eased back into practice as his injury healed, despite the surgery that he said he would have this off-season. He missed parts of three games, including two starts, but was aided by the bye San Francisco received. Last week, as the Packers game neared, Smith worked on a limited basis while Harbaugh gave reporters an all-timer in regard to Smith’s injury status.

And play Smith did, as the 49ers marched into the N.F.C. title game for the second straight season. The vibe around the facility felt different this week, Smith said. Just getting to that point no longer felt like an accomplishment. The goal is beyond the conference championship, but closer now.

“There’s a different feel this year,” Smith said, his torn triceps notwithstanding, hardly acknowledged, yet also pivotal for the 49ers’ playoff hopes.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 17 of the New York edition with the headline: 49ers Star Shakes Off Focus on Injury. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe